My NEW sous chef

Move over Alex-- I have a new sous chef! Shayna has made it to the Learning Tower (best purchase EVER) and has been joining me in the kitchen. Apparently she'll eat anything. Yesterday it was raw butternut squash and tonight it's raw aspragus. She seriously ate all of the tips. Of course Alex had to join her (in the cooking, not the eating, God forbid!) and there wasn't a lot of room in the cooking area after that. With just Alex I can leave my knives out but obviously I had to keep them (and just about everything else) from Shayna so I just kept inching away until I was on the other side of the kitchen. She is quite happy to stand at the counter and "help" though.

What We're Eating: Warm Farro Salad with Roasted Mushrooms, Feta and Truffle Oil

Oh, this was delicious! Original recipe from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop, modified by me-- I added more vegetables and truffle oil.

Warm Farro Salad with Roasted Mushrooms, Feta and Truffle Oil

1 1/2 cups farro or spelt
water, salt

extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, halved or quartered (I used cremini; would like to have added some shiitake)
1 1/2 c cherry tomatoes, halved
6 shallots, sliced thinly

arugula
feta (the original recipe suggests feta, goat or pecorino. I would stick with feta or use parmesan)
parsley
truffle oil

1. Cook the farro in salted water for 30-40 minutes until tender/chewy, then drain and mix with a little oil
2. Toss the vegetables with oil, salt and pepper and then roast at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes. MAKE SURE you give them enough room on the roasting sheet or they will steam and not roast
3. Toss everything together, serve on top of a bed of arugula and top with feta, parsley, salt and pepper and do NOT forget the truffle oil!

What We're Eating: Israeli Cauliflower with Panko

Not sure what is "Israeli" about this dish but it was damn good. I've made it several times. The best part is that you cook the cauliflower in the microwave and then sear it on the stove in the same pan you toasted the panko (but remove the panko first). No steaming or roasting so it's quite quick. Sorry this picture is a little lacking... it keeps getting eaten too quickly! Here's the recipe from the website-- I highlighted my changes in yellow.

Israeli Cauliflower with Panko from Cooking Light

Ingredients
6 cups cauliflower florets (I just used one whole head)
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (I think I didn't use any because I didn't have any...)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
1. Combine cauliflower and 2 tablespoons water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain.
2. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add panko to pan; cook 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring constantly. Remove panko from pan.
3. Heat remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and garlic in pan over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower; sauté 5 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Add panko, parsley, salt, and pepper; toss to combine.

What We're Eating: Coconut Crusted Tofu with Thai Red Curry Sauce

I've been cooking a lot but haven't been posting about it because, frankly, I'm too lazy to carry the recipe upstairs to the computer. I also feel guilty about posting published recipes without permission so unless I can link to it I'm not too keen on reproducing it here. The dinner I made last night though, was a mix and match of different parts of recipes put together and a decent amount of effort so I'll share...

I knew I was going to make some sort of Tofu with Thai Red Curry Sauce and I needed an Asian salad to go with it. I threw together some leftover greens with thinly sliced red peppers and cucumbers. I took my dressing recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, which is a cookbook I don't use that often. It's too big; it has too many recipes in it. I can't read it like a book so I just use it as a reference guide:

Soy Ginger Dressing:

salt and pepper

2 tbl rice vinegar

1 tbl grated fresh ginger

1 tsp sugar

2 tbl soy sauce

The kids were having "Sushi and Edamame" for dinner. This after my house was cleaned yesterday; always a mistake as I ended up on my hands and knees picking up rice from the floor and carpet. For the side dish I just mixed the kids dinner ingredients and ended up with basmati rice with edamame and crumbled bits of Korean seaweed.

The Thai Red Curry Sauce was the inspiration for the dish and that came from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop. It's a great cookbook but often involves a lot of steps and too many (unnecessary, in my opinion) dirty prep dishes. I like it because it's organized seasonally. The actual recipe I was going to make was very simple and involved searing the tofu and simmering it in the sauce-- very quick and easy for this particular cookbook. Alas, I had also recently seen a recipe for Coconut Crusted Shrimp in my Cooking Light Magazine this month and that just looked yummy so I decided to try it on tofu and combine the two recipes.

Coconut Panko Crusted Tofu:

1 block of extra firm tofu

cornstarch, salt and pepper, dash of cayenne

3 egg whites

1/3 c shredded unsweetened coconut

1/3 c panko

canola or peanut oil

Slice the tofu into 1/4 inch slabs. Dredge in cornstarch mixed with salt and peppers, then into the egg white and then into the coconut panko mixture which you have pulsed together (I'm loving the Magic Bullet these days) to a powder. Coat the bottom of your pan with oil and heat to medium-high. Lightly fry the tofu a few minutes on each side and then drain on paper towels or a rack. Sprinkle with a little salt.

For the Thai Red Curry Sauce:

1/4 c unsweetened coconut milk

1/4 c vegetable broth

1 tbl soy sauce

1 tbl fresh lime juice

1 tsp thai red curry paste

1 tsp sugar

I just put it on the stove and heated it gently and let it thicken. Then I put it in a gravy container (actually I think it was a creamer...) and served it alongside the tofu. That way you can add some just before eating so the crusty tofu doesn't get soggy. The sauce was delicious and really easy. It was barely enough for two. Ron and I were fighting over it so next time I would definitely double it; especially since you have almost an entire can of coconut milk leftover anyway. It tasted great on the rice with edamame too. Just yummy yummy yummy.

All in all it was a really delicious meal. A little stressful for me with the tofu frying (I wasn't sure it was going to work!) but Ron and I each ended up eating a half a block of tofu and wanting more more more. Not too bad for you-- just a little coconut milk and some oil, most of which isn't REALLY absorbed during the cooking process (is it?). Remember the salad dressing didn't even have any oil in it. Ron really liked the salad, by the way. Alex, my little 2 1/2 year old chef, made the dressing and the red curry sauce. He's obsessed with cooking.

So that's all for now. I have a new cooking plan that seems to be working and I'll elaborate some other time (nothing shocking, just picking out a month's worth of recipes and actually cooking them). We've been eating healthily and home cooked around here-- trying to eat seasonally as well. That's the hardest part. Hope you're eating well too!

My first laptop lunch

I've made a few laptop lunches for the kids this week but their lunches are rather boring and certainly not worth sharing! This one is for Ron. All he wants is for me to make him lunch every day and I refuse. It's that last thing that makes me feel like housewife (you're standing right next to me-- make your own lunch!). Now that I'm making Talia lunch everyday and Alex lunch three times a week I'm trying to be a little more prepared. Plus I often made lunches in the morning but obviously I have to do it at night now. With all of this going on, I decided to make Ron a lunch last night.

I bought these laptop lunchboxes online and they are super cute. Besides helping reduce waste by providing easy-to-clean reusable containers and real silverware, they also force you to rethink portion control and focus on healthy eating. I stumbled upon a laptop lunch flickr group and was stunned at the effort people put into their lunches. I could look at those pictures for hours!

So, as I said, I finally gave in and decided to make Ron's lunch for today. The conditions were right-- we had the right amount of leftovers, the house was all cleaned up and the kids were at the park. I have to say it took me way longer than it should have but it was kind of fun. There isn't, in my opinion, room enough in the laptop lunch for a real adult size main course so I added an extra tupperware. I filled that with leftover spinach mozzarella ravioli with herbs, parmesan and slightly cooked cherry tomatoes from my garden. Israeli salad with feta and zataar filled one big container and pita crisps and purple carrots filled the other. Hummus went into a small container and homemade zucchini bread went into the last one. Only one of the larger containers has a lid, which is kind of weird. I had to cover the hummus with tin foil. The outer plastic container of the laptop lunchbox fits snugly to the tops of the containers but I wouldn't trust it with wet ingredients. I threw a cloth napkin in with the silverware. A balanced, healthy meal with portion control and almost nothing to throw away.

When I have made Ron lunch in the past he complained that I gave him too much food. I used to work 12 hour nursing shifts where I really looked forward to my 20 minute lunch. I used to bring lots of little snacks to sneak in during the day for energy. I think that's why I would give Ron lots of different things. In this case, I gave him lots of things but the portions are soooo small (that's three small carrots!) that I think he'll eat it all. Now he'll complain that I don't make him lunch every day. He'll say, "You did it once so now I know you can do it again!"

Giada's Rigatoni with Vegetable Bolognese

Um hmmmm. A nice red wine-y taste. Very filling. It's made with carrots, onion, red bell pepper, garlic/thyme/oregano, mushrooms (regular and dried-- important!), tomato paste, red wine and the trick is a little mascapone cheese mixed in. And parm of course. Here's the recipe...

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

If you are a dedicated reader of my blog (all 3 of you) you will remember that I hate potatoes (here too). That's not exactly true. I like potatoes somewhat, I just don't consider them healthy nor do I think of them as a vegetable. As a vegetarian, most of my main dishes either contain a grain- such as pasta, or are served over grains- such as couscous or rice. I don't, therefore, have any room on my plate for potatoes. That being said, if someone is going to serve me fries or mashed potatoes I'm not going to turn them down. I just wouldn't ever choose to make them. I do really like potato salad and I make it every so often but then I eat the whole thing and don't feel very good about myself. So far this summer we have gotten two bags of potatoes from the CSA. At this point they are pretty much still a novelty. If I am accurately remembering the amount of potatoes we got last year, they are soon to become loathsome.

The first batch of potatoes were made into "Burg's Potato Salad" from Orangette's book. I can't remember what was different about it from my own recipe but that's probably because Ron ate most of it before I could my hands on it. I do remember thinking it was a little labor intensive compared to my own which I love and can't stop eating, which is why I never make it (cook the shit out of the potatoes, mix it with mayo and hard-boiled eggs, mash it all up until it's the consistency of mashed potatoes and add lots of salt and fresh dill-- eat it while it's WARM!).

The second batch of potatoes got roasted with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary. It's not difficult but it takes an hour to cook and that seems like a silly amount of time to wait for breakfast. The key to roasted potatoes (or any roasted vegetable in my opinion) is to mix the vegetable with olive oil and seasonings in a big bowl BEFORE you put it in your roasting pan. If you do it straight on the roasting sheet you are missing out on really coating the potatoes well. You might have one less dish to clean but you'll miss out completely on flavor and crunchiness. I used my convection oven for this one, setting it to 400 (so it cooked at 375) and cooking them undisturbed for 20 minutes. Then I tossed them every 10 minutes for another 30 minutes (so, 50 minutes all together). Amazingly enough, EVERYONE in my family enjoyed them and begged for more. I don't think there is another food we have ever all eaten at the same time except pizza, which I don't love anyway. Even better, I sat on the back deck with the kids looking at books while we ate the potatoes and it seemed almost relaxing. Imagine that!

Pretty Local

We had an almost completely local (and delicious) dinner:

- tomato basil mozzarella salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar: tomatoes and basil from my garden
-asian slaw: cabbage and carrot from our CSA, mint and cilantro from my garden
-green beans with lemon parsley gremolata: green beans from the CSA, parsley from the garden and local parmesan cheese (actually I used the recipe from How to Eat Supper but this one seems almost the same)

Most delicious fennel beet salad

While trying to get through my CSA produce last week I searched for a fennel salad recipe online. Usually I just slice it thinly and serve it raw with some olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. One of the first hits I got was for this fennel beet salad. I decided to kill two birds with one stone (fennel and beets) and make it. I had very low expectations but it was EXCELLENT! Really tangy and delicious. I won't post the recipe here but I'll send you over to the website. The only change I made was that I didn't serve it over greens because I didn't have any. I would probably serve it without greens again. It was so simple and easy and yummy. And it used up my beets-- I like beets but they are such a pain to cook that I usually don't bother with them. Now I'm hoping to get some more fennel AND beets in my CSA box. Enjoy!

Spring CSA: Week One

We belong to Vermont Valley CSA. Last year we only got summer shares. This year we are getting spring shares as well. It is an exciting but daunting challenge to figure out how to serve all those vegetables each week. We rose to the challenge this first week. Here's what we came up with:

Salad mix and Lettuce Head: Those are easy-- they fed us three salads throughout the week.
Arugula: I made arugula pesto which I served with tortellini and sun-dried tomatoes. Alex actually ate it!
Bok Choy: I made a fried rice stir fry with pretty much every vegetable in my fridge (carrots, onions, broccoli, snap peas, frozen peas). It was a little bland but I served it with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. I'm still eating it 4 days later. I like to put pickle-y banana peppers in it. Actually lately I'm putting those on everything. I mean EVERYTHING.
Dandelion Greens: Sauteed with onions and parmesan and served with leftover arugula pesto tortellini
"Saute Mix": This is a bag of mixed greens. I don't really know what's in it. I just sauteed it with sesame oil and soy sauce and garlic. Served with the fried rice dinner.
Spinach: I added some to the arugula pesto and some to the sauteed dandelion greens.
Radishes: I made a yummy radish and white bean salad with feta and lemon.
Chives: Sprinkled on everything

The only thing we have left is watercress. I'm planning on adding some to tonight's dinner and a special salad for tomorrow. We pick up the next CSA box today so I'm feeling pretty good about my accomplishment with last week's supply. Plus, we were gone for two dinners over the weekend. Today we get fresh goat cheese and farm fresh eggs. I'm looking forward to that!

Katie's Salad

My friend Katie passed this salad idea along to me and I eat it often. Cut up a tomato (sometimes I use sun dried toms alone or with fresh toms), add a can of chickpeas (rinsed) and an entire avocado. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. This time I added feta because feta makes everything better. You can also consider some lemon juice but I don't think that's necessary. Without the feta I think this salad is really good for you-- even though you are eating an entire avocado! This recipe is so simple and quick. I like to put it in a big bowl. Enjoy.

Homemade Gnocchi

Recently I took a cookbook out of the library (Urban Italian). It was mostly filled with meat dishes and other things I won't cook (which is why it's good to take cookbooks out at the library!). I wanted to cook at least one recipe from it so I decided to try my hand at homemade gnocchi. The recipe in the book was simple but it was four pages long with step by step pictures. I bought a potato ricer and got to business. While the dish was quite good, I doubt I'll be making too much homemade gnocchi. It was messy and stressful. Time is really a factor-- you want everything done as calmly but quickly as possible and with my kids fighting over playmobils, well, I was pretty stressed out. It might not be that bad second time around. I know what to expect so perhaps I won't be as stressed. Ron said they tasted like "little pillows of pasta goodness." The tomato sauce was from the book also and was quite good although I think I would put in about half the oil next time...

Peasant Bread

I made my second batch from the cookbook Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. We ate three loaves from my first batch (it's supposed to be 4 loaves so I'm not sure what happened...) and they were delicious. For my second batch I tried the recipe for European Peasant Bread, which has some rye and whole wheat flour in it. I may have undercooked it slightly, as the crust was a little soft and the inside a little bit gummy. So far we haven't let any of the loaves cool before we ate them, which can also result in a slightly undercooked taste and consistency. It is *really* hard to wait! I have enough dough for two or three more loaves so I'll have a chance to play around with the baking time. Doesn't it look fantastic though? I thoroughly recommend this book!

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes

Made this loaf of fresh bread last night. It really is the first bread I've made that didn't involve a bread machine (which I highly recommend if you don't have one-- they are so simple to use and fabulous!). It was delicious. I used the recipe from the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes. I think the 5 minutes part is how long the bread lasts before it gets eaten. Seriously. It was gone that fast-- Alex, Ron AND Talia chowed it down.

The whole concept of the book is that the authors have figured out a recipe and method for making a large batch of dough (enough for four 1-pound loaves) and storing it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. When you need some fresh bread you cut off a chunk of dough, do a little magic (cloak it, let it rise for 40 minutes and then bake it for 30 minutes) and you have fresh bread. A one pound loaf is pretty small but I think that's the whole point of the book. It's only supposed to last one meal. Tomorrow I can bake another batch. It's that simple. I'm really excited to try out a more rustic loaf and a rye loaf and some other shapes. This was a boule but I might shape the next loaf as two small baguettes. The possibilities seem endless. Once again I'm rethinking this notion I have of myself as a cook- not a baker. So I don't like desserts. So what. Bread is the ultimate in baking.

New Play Kitchen

Now the kids are fighting over who gets to be at the stove. Now I'm cleaning up play pots and pans and play food all day in addition to the regular pots and pans and food. Oops.

Actually, it's a really nice kitchen. It took a lot of research and time to pick the right one but I really like it. I think the manufacturer is Kidkraft, if you're interested. It took me about 3 1/2 hours to put it together and I'm pretty good at that stuff.

Latkes-- Finally! with zaatar aioli

We finally made latkes for Hanukkah. I waited until my in-laws were here-- that way the trouble it takes to make them would be worth it and they could do most of the clean up (Thanks!). Actually, I didn't make them at all. Ron did most of the work. Ron doesn't cook much but certain things must seem like a "man's job" to him-- making pancakes, eggs, grilling outdoors, cooking edamame and making latkes. Those are his specialties. We used a simple recipe. What I contributed, however, was a delicious za'atar aioli.

Latkes
This very basic potato pancake recipe is from Jewish Cookery by Leah W. Leonard (Crown Publishers, 1949). It always works.
Serves 4-6.

6 medium potatoes
1 onion
2 eggs
½ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
Vegetable shortening or oil for deep frying (I use peanut oil, but any kind of vegetable oil will do)

Pare and grate potatoes into a mixing bowl. Squeeze out liquid. Peel and grate onion into potatoes. (I grate both together in the food processor). Add eggs, flour and salt and stir to make a smooth batter that will drop heavily from the spoon. Heap the shortening in a heavy frying pan (use a heavy, cast-iron skillet for the best results), using enough to cover the pancakes amply — about a 1/2-inch deep. Drop the batter from a spoon into the hot shortening, making pancakes about 3 inches in diameter. Fry over moderate heat until brown on the underside, turn to brown other side. Lift out and drain off excess fat on paper towel. Serve plain, with sour cream or applesauce.

ZA'ATAR AIOLI

1 large garlic clove, peeled
1 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup za'atar spice mix

Yummmmm

Mac-n-Smoked Gouda with Cauliflower from Rachael Ray

Made this and sent half to a friend who is on bedrest. It was good and had a nice kick. The panko topping is my own touch because more is always, well, more. This recipe definitely makes enough for two families! It tasted better when it was just made rather than reheated (more cheesy/gooey). Also, while it surely is a 30 minute recipe it seemed like I used every dish in my kitchen so there was a lot of clean up.

Genetics

Last night Talia was talking about making a gingerbread house at school and I told her I had never done that. She was surprised. She said, "Didn't you ask your mom?" And I said, "You mean Nana?" And then we looked at each other and laughed because Nana doesn't cook. Ever. She can't even boil water.

Last week Nana told me she was invited to a cookie exchange. She would never have gone except it was her supervisor at work who was hosting it. She said she was just going to pick up cookies at Costco and I suggested she make these pretzel kiss things since they were just about the easiest thing in the world. I emailed her the recipe and she gathered the ingredients. Or should I say, probably my dad gathered the ingredients because my mother hasn't set foot in a grocery store in about 5 years.

It was a disaster. This is the email she sent out:

1. Call daughter Nikki
2. She makes fun of you and gives you an “easy” recipe that EVEN YOU can make!!!!!!!
3.Buy waffle pretzels…chocolate kisses…M&M’s
4. Put pretzels on wax paper (why I even have wax paper is a great question!)
5. Put a kiss on each pretzel
6. Make oven 175 degrees
7. Wait 4-6 minutes
8. Nothing is happening
9. Take picture to prove this
10.Make oven to 300 degrees so faster melting will take place…or any melting actually
11. Fire alarm goes off
12. Husband says “I told you to buy the damn cookies at Costco!”
13. It smells!!!!
14. Take out of oven and try to hurry to put M&M’s on non-melted kisses
15.Kisses crumble and all smells burnt
16. Take picture to prove attempt at baking
17. Drink a BIG MARTINI
17. Call Nikki and berate her
18. Go to supermarket and buy world’s best cookies anyway that everyone will want more than the crap everyone baked!!!!!
19. Drink a LOT of wine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then she sent out an addendum to the first email:

Actually 18A. --- BEFORE "Drinks wine!!!!"
20. Attempt to get to Cookie Party---car won't start, get charged, car stops 3 minutes later while driving - able to sorta pull into weird gas station - have Barb's cell # (THANK YOU!!!!!) - get picked up by Erica and Stacie (Thank you!!!)
Epilogue - Bruce picks me up --- charges car, starts!...stops!...starts!...stops! --- is now in front of Ben Franklin School waiting to be towed to Flemington!!!! Bruce eats half of loot on way home!!!!!!
Conclusion - Nice Jewish girls belong in bakeries and restaurants, NOT in kitchens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The photo that accompanies this post is of the batch that I made for the cookie exchange and fundraiser that I went to tonight. They turned out beautifully.

What We're Eating: Watermelon and Tomato Salad with Mint, Feta and Lime

I know it doesn't seem like these ingredients go together but they are delicious! This salad is really easy to make because you don't have to toss the salad or mix the dressing separately.

Watermelon and Tomato Salad with Feta, Mint and Lime

1. Cut equal parts tomato chunks and watermelon chunks (equal size). I used half a mini watermelon and about three big tomatoes.
2. Crumble feta and sprinkle chopped fresh mint on top. The mint in key so use more than you think you need.
3. Drizzle olive oil on top (just a little) and add fresh salt (a little) and pepper (a medium amount).
4. Squeeze lime over everything-- I would probably use at least two limes for maximum flavor.

See how easy that is? This is adapted from a Cooking Light recipe. I saw so many salad recipes this summer with watermelon in them and I wondered how they must taste. Really great!

What We're Eating: Grilled Salad

This is one of my favorite salads of all time: Grilled Caesar Salad. Grilling romaine lettuce gives it an amazing flavor. Lots of garlic, shaved parmesan and tons of fresh lemon juice make it stand out. I like to serve it when friends come over because the taste is so unexpected. Of course, it must be cooked on the spot and served immediately so I only pair it with a main dish that either goes in the oven or simmers on the stove so I'm don't have to cook anything else while guests are here.

I basically slice a head of romaine down the center, paint it with olive oil and chopped garlic and then let it sear on my grill pan or saute pan until it starts to turn black. Then I flip it over. I've tried to cut it up first and that works ok too. I just toss it in the pan a little. When it's getting black all over I transfer to a plate, cut it up and add salt, pepper, shaved parmesan and lots of lemon juice-- maybe two lemons per lettuce head. It has to be really tart. Sometimes I add lemon zest too. I've tried it with anchovy oil but it didn't really seem to make a difference. Serve this with crusty bread and a yummy soup and it is a great meal. Try it-- you won't be disappointed!